Surging conflict in DRC drives sexual assault against displaced women
By Rédaction Africanews
Hundreds of thousands of women and girls have been displaced over the past year in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo amid fighting by more than 130 armed groups.
As drawn-out conflicts continue to spiral, instances of sexual violence by armed men against displaced women, many living in camps, are climbing rapidly, according to French aid group Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF, or Doctors without Borders).
MSF says more than twice as many women in recent months have sought treatment for sexual assault in some displacement camps outside the eastern city of Goma, where shelters are little more than plastic sheets.
One survivor of sexual violence is a 42-year-old mother of four, who was abandoned by her husband after she became disabled in a motorcycle accident several years ago.
She recounts how a hooded man burst into her tent while her children were out searching for food, raping her in the displacement camp where she had fled to from the country's east.
Now, she says, she hesitates to let her children leave her side, and lives in fear of the same thing happening again.
The frightening trend underscores the consequences for women and girls of the perpetual state of war in the east of the African nation, where conflict has simmered for nearly three decades.
The United Nations estimates that more than 130 armed groups are active in the country's northeast, each vying for land or resources while some have formed to protect their communities.
More than four million people were displaced within Congo because of conflict in 2022, the most in Africa and second in the world only to Ukraine, according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center.
And of the nearly 100,000 people who arrived at displacement sites near the northeastern city of Goma in July, nearly 60% were women and girls, according to the International Organization for Migration.
Sexual violence has long been used as a weapon of war by armed fighters in the region and in Bulengo and nearby displacement sites, an average of 70 sexual assault victims each day visit clinics run by MSF.
MSF treated 1,500 female victims of sexual violence in July across just three displacement camps outside Goma, which is more than double the number in May, the organization said in a report released on September 18.
Survivors and aid workers say displacement rips people from their livelihoods and leaves women and girls susceptible to assault, while conditions at the camps leave them more vulnerable to abuse.
Shelters are little more than plastic sheets, with no way of securing them from intruders, while armed men often lurk outside the camps, where women and girls are forced to venture out to find firewood and other necessities.
Another rape survivor says she worries for the safety of her children and is afraid to see them venture outside the camp, worried that they may become the victims of sexual violence too.
Celine Luanda, a community women's outreach worker, says it is important to raise awareness of the problem and inform people they could seek help at a health centre.
MSF, along with United Nations agencies and other local organizations, help provide medical services, psychological treatment, latrines, and other measures to improve conditions for victims of sexual violence.
But their role as providers of medical assistance and community sensitization is limited.
For hundreds of thousands of other displaced women, the escalating armed conflict stands in the way of a return to normal life.
The two women interviewed by The Associated Press said they thought each day about how they could go back to farming in their village.
And each night they fear for their safety.
'I wanted to scream': Conflict in Congo drives sexual assault against displaced women
Hundreds of thousands of women and girls have been displaced over the past year in eastern Congo amid fighting by more than 130 armed groups
By
Hundreds of thousands of women and girls have been displaced over the past year in eastern Congo amid fighting by more than 130 armed groups
By
JUSTIN KABUMBA
For hundreds of thousands of other displaced women in northeast Congo, escalating armed conflict stands in the way of a return to normal life. The two women interviewed by the AP said they think each day about how they can return to farming in their village.
And each night they fear for their safety.
“Let the government do everything to end this war so that we can give up this life of misery,” the mother of four said.
___
Irwin reported from Dakar, Senegal.
Associated Press
and ZANE IRWIN
Associated Press
October 25, 2023
The 42-year-old mother of four who was raped in the Bulengo displacement camp where she had fled war in eastern Congo poses for a photograph Aug. 23, 2023. Hundreds of thousands of women and girls have been d...Show more
The Associated Press
BULENGO, Congo -- A hooded man burst into the 42-year-old woman's tent while her children were out searching for food, then raped her in the displacement camp where she had fled war in eastern Congo.
“I wanted to scream (but) he took my mouth and he threatened me with death,” said the mother of four, who was abandoned by her husband after she became disabled in a motorcycle accident several years ago.
Now, she says, she lives in fear and hesitates to let her children leave her side.
Sexual violence by armed men against displaced women is increasing rapidly in eastern Congo as yearslong conflicts continue. The trend underscores the disproportionate consequences for women and girls in the region's perpetual state of war. The Associated Press is not identifying survivors who spoke to journalists in the Bulengo displacement camp.
In Bulengo and other displacement sites nearby, an average of 70 sexual assault victims each day visit clinics run by Doctors Without Borders, also known by its French acronym MSF.
Conflict has simmered in eastern Congo for nearly three decades. The United Nations estimates that more than 130 armed groups are active in the country's northeast, vying for land or resources while some have formed to protect their communities. Sexual violence has long been used as a weapon of war by armed fighters in the region.
More than 4 million people were displaced within Congo because of conflict in 2022, the most in Africa and second in the world only to Ukraine, according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center. Of nearly 100,000 people who arrived at displacement sites near the eastern city of Goma in July, nearly 60% were women and girls, according to the International Organization for Migration.
Doctors Without Borders treated 1,500 female victims of sexual violence in just three displacement camps outside Goma in July, more than double the number in May, the organization said in a Sept. 18 report.
Survivors and aid workers say displacement rips people from their livelihoods and leaves women and girls vulnerable to assault.
Like many other displaced single mothers, the 42-year-old mother of four is struggling to feed her family and unsure when she might return home.
With the help of her two sons and two daughters, she had cultivated her fields of cassava, potatoes and beans. But in February, armed rebels and Congolese security forces clashed close to her home in the northeastern village of Karenga.
“We were forced to flee, leaving behind all our belongings,” she said. Limping, she walked an entire day to bring her family to one of more than 100 sites where displaced people have gathered around Goma.
One May evening, after three months of struggling to feed her family in a camp with tens of thousands of other displaced people, she sent her children to find food. They hadn’t eaten all day, she said. That’s when a stranger found her alone and raped her.
After the attack, she confided in a friend who directed her to a clinic run by MSF. The charity group along with United Nations agencies and local organizations help provide medical services, psychological treatment, latrines and other measures to improve conditions for survivors of sexual violence.
But their role is limited. Deliveries of food and other basic needs to the camp are infrequent, said Rebecca Kihiu, MSF’s regional sexual violence activity manager.
The camp’s conditions leave women vulnerable to abuse. Shelters are little more than plastic sheets, with no way of securing them from intruders, Kihiu said. Armed men lurk outside the camp, where women and girls are forced to venture to find firewood and other necessities.
“They know that they will go and find these assaults outside the camp. But they have no option,” Kihiu said.
Already scarred by fleeing their homes, survivors of sexual assault in camps like Bulengo live with the experience long afterward. “It’s a trauma that will stay for a lifetime,” said Esmeralda Alabre, coordinator for UNFPA gender-based violence programming in northeast Congo.
A mother of eight in the same displacement camp received some medical help after she was raped. But she is still afraid, especially at night. She now arranges her children around her when they sleep, hoping their presence will deter a future aggressor.
Kihiu says some groups of women band together on trips outside the camp for added security, but this tactic falters if they need to split up to collect resources more efficiently.
October 25, 2023
The 42-year-old mother of four who was raped in the Bulengo displacement camp where she had fled war in eastern Congo poses for a photograph Aug. 23, 2023. Hundreds of thousands of women and girls have been d...Show more
The Associated Press
BULENGO, Congo -- A hooded man burst into the 42-year-old woman's tent while her children were out searching for food, then raped her in the displacement camp where she had fled war in eastern Congo.
“I wanted to scream (but) he took my mouth and he threatened me with death,” said the mother of four, who was abandoned by her husband after she became disabled in a motorcycle accident several years ago.
Now, she says, she lives in fear and hesitates to let her children leave her side.
Sexual violence by armed men against displaced women is increasing rapidly in eastern Congo as yearslong conflicts continue. The trend underscores the disproportionate consequences for women and girls in the region's perpetual state of war. The Associated Press is not identifying survivors who spoke to journalists in the Bulengo displacement camp.
In Bulengo and other displacement sites nearby, an average of 70 sexual assault victims each day visit clinics run by Doctors Without Borders, also known by its French acronym MSF.
Conflict has simmered in eastern Congo for nearly three decades. The United Nations estimates that more than 130 armed groups are active in the country's northeast, vying for land or resources while some have formed to protect their communities. Sexual violence has long been used as a weapon of war by armed fighters in the region.
More than 4 million people were displaced within Congo because of conflict in 2022, the most in Africa and second in the world only to Ukraine, according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center. Of nearly 100,000 people who arrived at displacement sites near the eastern city of Goma in July, nearly 60% were women and girls, according to the International Organization for Migration.
Doctors Without Borders treated 1,500 female victims of sexual violence in just three displacement camps outside Goma in July, more than double the number in May, the organization said in a Sept. 18 report.
Survivors and aid workers say displacement rips people from their livelihoods and leaves women and girls vulnerable to assault.
Like many other displaced single mothers, the 42-year-old mother of four is struggling to feed her family and unsure when she might return home.
With the help of her two sons and two daughters, she had cultivated her fields of cassava, potatoes and beans. But in February, armed rebels and Congolese security forces clashed close to her home in the northeastern village of Karenga.
“We were forced to flee, leaving behind all our belongings,” she said. Limping, she walked an entire day to bring her family to one of more than 100 sites where displaced people have gathered around Goma.
One May evening, after three months of struggling to feed her family in a camp with tens of thousands of other displaced people, she sent her children to find food. They hadn’t eaten all day, she said. That’s when a stranger found her alone and raped her.
After the attack, she confided in a friend who directed her to a clinic run by MSF. The charity group along with United Nations agencies and local organizations help provide medical services, psychological treatment, latrines and other measures to improve conditions for survivors of sexual violence.
But their role is limited. Deliveries of food and other basic needs to the camp are infrequent, said Rebecca Kihiu, MSF’s regional sexual violence activity manager.
The camp’s conditions leave women vulnerable to abuse. Shelters are little more than plastic sheets, with no way of securing them from intruders, Kihiu said. Armed men lurk outside the camp, where women and girls are forced to venture to find firewood and other necessities.
“They know that they will go and find these assaults outside the camp. But they have no option,” Kihiu said.
Already scarred by fleeing their homes, survivors of sexual assault in camps like Bulengo live with the experience long afterward. “It’s a trauma that will stay for a lifetime,” said Esmeralda Alabre, coordinator for UNFPA gender-based violence programming in northeast Congo.
A mother of eight in the same displacement camp received some medical help after she was raped. But she is still afraid, especially at night. She now arranges her children around her when they sleep, hoping their presence will deter a future aggressor.
Kihiu says some groups of women band together on trips outside the camp for added security, but this tactic falters if they need to split up to collect resources more efficiently.
For hundreds of thousands of other displaced women in northeast Congo, escalating armed conflict stands in the way of a return to normal life. The two women interviewed by the AP said they think each day about how they can return to farming in their village.
And each night they fear for their safety.
“Let the government do everything to end this war so that we can give up this life of misery,” the mother of four said.
___
Irwin reported from Dakar, Senegal.
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